Shoreham Redoubt facts for kids
The Shoreham Redoubt, also known as Shoreham Fort, is an old military building. It sits at the entrance to Shoreham harbour, where the River Adur meets the sea in West Sussex, England. This fort was planned in the 1850s when people in the United Kingdom were worried about attacks. It was finished in June 1857 and cost about £1.2 million in today's money. It looks a lot like Littlehampton Fort, which was built a few years earlier.
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What is Shoreham Fort?
The fort had a special platform for guns, about 4.6 meters (15 feet) above the sea. It was shaped like a crescent moon with straight sides. A deep ditch surrounded the gun platform and its walls. In the middle of this ditch was a strong wall called a Carnot wall. This wall was designed to stop attackers trying to cross the ditch. It had small openings for defenders to shoot through.
Special Features of the Fort
Instead of open areas like other forts, Shoreham Fort had special brick-roofed rooms called caponiers. There was one at each of the three corners of the walls. These rooms allowed soldiers to shoot along the walls at anyone in the ditch. The main caponier went across the ditch and was connected to the fort by a tunnel. The other two caponiers were also used as toilets.
The fort also had a building for soldiers, big enough for 38 men. It was armed with six powerful 68-pounder guns. These guns could move around on special platforms.
Shoreham Fort Through Time
For a while, soldiers from the 1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers guarded the fort. They were known as a very good group of volunteer soldiers. In 1865, they even won a prize for how well they could shoot.
Changes to the Fort's Defenses
By 1873, military experts decided the fort's guns were old-fashioned. They also thought the fort itself was not strong enough. It was too easy to attack from the land, as its defenses only faced the sea. They suggested building a new, stronger fort nearby, but this never happened. By 1886, the fort's guns were updated. It then had two 80-pounder guns and three 64-pounder guns.
Shoreham Fort in the 20th Century
In the early 1900s, the fort became a place for making silent movies! Four films were made there in 1914.
During World War II, the fort was used again for defense. It became part of a coastal battery with aiming lights and two large 6-inch guns. These guns were placed on top of the fort's main platform. After the war, the soldiers' building was taken down. A coastguard tower was then built on the gun platform. In the late 1970s, the fort was cleaned up and repaired.
Shoreham Fort Today
Today, you can visit the fort and see the gun platform, the ditch, the Carnot wall, and the caponiers. You can also see the old foundations of the soldiers' building. Near the fort, there is a safety tower run by volunteers. They watch the harbour entrance and the sea.
Restoring the Fort
A local group of volunteers, called the Friends of Shoreham Fort, are working to restore the fort even more. They want to rebuild the soldiers' building to create a museum and a place for the community.
In 2014, an old Nissen hut was moved to the site. A Nissen hut is a type of simple, curved building. This hut is now used as an education center and a display area. It was moved from near Chichester, where two women who had lived in it since World War II had passed away.
In 2020, the Friends of Shoreham Fort built a special Memorial Training Trench. This trench remembers all the soldiers who trained in the area before going to France in the First World War. The trench will be used for teaching and was partly paid for by the National Lottery.
